章 23: Chapter 22
I'm awake but not awake, like my spirit hovers above my body. I can fall on either side, back in sweet slumber, or wake to full consciousness.
.... Sweet slumber it is. I nestle myself deeper, rolling to lie on my side. My ears flinch at the sound. The pitter-patter of bare feet walking, hurrying, and the sound swells until it reaches my chambers. But my eyes remain closed, my consciousness continues to seep in, and I just listen.
"Do you think we should wake her?" Cassia.
"I don't even think the Citadel's drums can wake her." Nalia.
Then the footsteps diverge, two pairs of feet wandering at the foot, and one of them roams along the side that I face.
"Nalia, really?" Lila. "She and the other Herems were attacked on their way here and had to journey by foot. You can at least feign compassion."
Nalia drags out an exaggerated groan. "I understand that, but if they sleep any longer even the bears would have woken from hibernation."
"Princess," I begin
My words trigger a ripple of shocked gasps.
"If it'd been you who endured the trek, they'd still be collecting scattered pieces of you in the forest."
"You're awake," Lila says cheerfully.
"Yes... finally," I say, my tone wrapped with wryness.
I peel my eyes open, greeted by sunlight that has the bedchamber awash in the golden brilliance of a full noontide' sun. Although it is a bedchamber, what I sleep on is an open net thing, like a sprawling hammock. Instead of it being curled like a cocoon.
The net bed is an expansive, square-shaped marvel, a delicate yet sturdy sanctuary suspended high above the ground. Its surface is softened by a collection of thin, colored cushions, and a fortress of pillows surrounds me, creating a cocoon of comfort and vibrancy. The bed is hoisted by four robust cords, each splayed out and securely hooked into the ceiling, ensuring its stability. This meticulous suspension is vital, for beneath the net bed lies an immense chasm, matching its breadth. A single misstep or a failed cord would result in a fatal fall.
The room itself is vast but barely a room in the traditional sense. Rectangular in shape, it has no need for windows, as its design embraces the openness of the natural world. Trefoil arches grace both sides of the room, two on each side, and two flanking the net bed. These four archways, though seemingly purposeless, add to the room's magical ambiance. They do not lead to other chambers but rather to the open air, where a step beyond their threshold would result in my demise.
The space is bathed in natural light, streaming through the arches, casting intricate patterns on the wooden floor. The gentle sway of the net bed in the breeze, the soft rustle of leaves outside, and the distant songs of birds create a serene yet exhilarating atmosphere. The room, high in the branches of the ancient tree, feels like a mystical haven suspended between earth and sky, a place where one can truly feel the heartbeat of nature. Already there are bundles of scattered green leaves on the wooden floorboards.
A ligneous vanity set is situated on the left side corner, beside one of the two archways. Cassia has her back to all of us as she deposits something on the table. Her frame blocks my view of the object.
"Ready or not, a luncheon is being prepared for you and the Herems," Nalia informs. Idly ambling in circles, swishing her avocado-green dress. "You all slept for so long that father concluded the symposium with his first ranks."
I lift my head first, the weight of a hundred tons. I prop myself up on my elbows.
"The Regulus will see us now?"
"Right," Cassia chirps. "I will go make sure that your bath is prepared with fresh weavings for you to wear." She claps her hands together in finality and walks to the only archway in the room that serves a purpose—linked to the rest of the structure, a separate annex from the Regulus's palace. All the bedchambers of the Herems and I are standalones, but unfortunately, they are still connected in a row like an outdoor corridor.
"Father has already announced that the celebration will commence tonight," Lila says. A washed-out pink flower crown on her head. "And you will need to look your best."
I fall back down. "Of course I do."
"Yes, you do," Nalia reiterates with a hint of aggression in her tone. "The Mage Masters and Green Earls will be in attendance, so you want to make a good impression if you want to court favour."
A hollow laugh escapes me. "Forgive me, but I don't even know what those are let alone the reason as to why I need to curry favour."
Nalia halts her aimless dawdling. "Oh, you don't know? Lila—" she glances at her but points back to me condescendingly, "—she doesn't know. Very soon all will try to curry favour with the Terra, because the meeting that the Regulus had been holding in succession, was not about one measly village."
Lila adds her voice, "It was about more than a dozen. People echoing the same tale that their crops have mysteriously rotted without cause. Now even the Viridian farmlands have been poisoned by this plague, and those lands supply major cities among the provinces. If this continues—"
"A famine will spread," I finish with a despair-gripped voice. Attentive. "Thousands... close to a million will go hungry."
Nalia nods knowingly. "And hungry people become desperate, and desperate people are capable of doing dangerous things. So, you see, Hera, Urium needs the healing and cultivating touch of the Terra. You will want to secure our aid in the event that this plague possibly spreads to your province. Your Regnum possesses holdings, do they not?"
I shamble to sit upright. "I don't care about Regnum Valwa, but my father owns lands in the Einere region, those yields are the only reason my kin and I didn't perish when I was a child."
Nalia gestures to me pointedly. "See, do you not wish to have your farmstead protected?"
"And you are already at a disadvantage," Lila says. "Dario from Regnum Cypress has a longstanding alliance with one of our own. A powerful Green Earl supplies him with a prearranged source of earth globs."
I nod slowly. "And why are you telling me this? Surely you want to garner favour with the heart-achingly handsome and edible Herems, why not assist them?"
Nalia snorts and looks away. "The Herems are good enough to look at. Perhaps I'll even sample some of the noble dishes. But to rule the entire realm? I think a woman would do, a tolerant High Queen that might unify Urium that's so rife with discord and discrimination that has fractured us all."
Lila nods many times. "Perhaps that was the idea. Once I learnt of the High King's mandate, I thought it was odd. But now I see what his intention is or what it may be. The locations he has chosen both self-determined and under his reign. The factions that are against each other because of their beliefs, livelihoods and races. But perhaps that can change."
My cheeks tighten. "One person cannot do that... change people."
"Perhaps not," Nalia drawls, deliberating. "But maybe a Queen can. High King Urus has not shown any support towards those who seek to sow discord in the realm. But neither does he condemn it. He and the High Tribunal have made no legitimate move to quash the violence and hatred. Because of fear."
"Fear of what?"
"A revolt," Lila says. "Slaying them might create martyrs and only embolden those who desire the monarchy to be dismantled. So, in consequence—"
"He allows them to tear Urium apart with bloodshed and hate," Nalia exclaims. "Which is why our predecessors decided to isolate the celestial forest after the Pavelia wars. They wanted no part in the bigotry that has poisoned our lands and has turned its people against each other."
I glance down at my hands, nails sullied and uncut. "Then how is it that all of you are so fluent in Arkian, your accents almost perfect?"
Nalia bobs a haughty shoulder. "I'm glad you think so. I feel that the decision to isolate ourselves then was wise, but that was another era. Now, it's different. My sisters and I share a common intrigue about the outside world, about things we can only read about."
"Hera Aurora, your bath is ready!" Cassia's words are augmented by an echo.
Nalia looks down and wags her finger at me, demandingly.
I suppress a groan, flinging the light covers off me. My gaze shoots to my thighs. My sheathed daggers are gone.
My gaze pierces Nalia's lavender eyes. "Where are my daggers?"
"Sent them in for some maintenance, to have them cleaned and sharpened."
My calm dulls the steel in my gaze. I try to heave myself up, peering down at the narrow gap between the hole next the bed net and the floorboards. Careful not to lose my footing or farewell, Aurora. Nalia walks forward and lends her hand. I take it and she pulls me upright so my feet meet safely with the wood.
"You don't perhaps have sleeping quarters that are not a death trap?" I ask.
Nalia snorts a laugh and turns to exit the room via the archway. Lila and I follow. She leads us down a corridor that is completely open on one side. The only thing on my left is a wooden railing with columns to hold up the roof, vines tangled around the limbs. The view beyond is hindered by a curtain of foliage that hangs from the thick branches of the tree that the edifice is built on.
Between the bedchambers, I am led to the gap reserved for a short staircase that runs up to a platform. The only covers are high dividers like folding screens. Only two points of entry, the one we came from and one on the opposite side.
In the center is a white porcelain bath that brims with steaming hot water. The surface is blanketed by a layer of sun-yellow blooms with open petals as if to embrace the light. Cassia lingers beside a wooden counter decked with natural cosmetics, containers of different colored liquids. In her grasp is a mortar and pestle, mincing and mixing some kind of herb, grinding it into fine grains.
"That looks relaxing," I say, taking a few steps towards it.
"I would hope so. Now get in so I can put this stimulant on you. Your darling skin is so dry, I fear it may crack," she says, making an exaggerated motion towards the bath.
"And let's not forget the pungent odor," Nalia says with an elfin smirk.
"Wait." I raise a finger. "So, all the Herems and I share one bath?"
Lila shakes her head. "Of course not. Each bedchamber has its own. This is yours."
I look warily at both the very open and unprotected entries in emphasis. "Yes, but there are no walls, doors, or anything. The Herems could accidentally, or not so accidentally, waltz right in here."
Nalia's head tilts from side to side. "Theoretically, yes. But guards are circulating your annex on the hour. You needn't fear, Hera."
"Aurora," I correct snappishly.
I yank the binds out of my hair, tugging it out before I obtain success. I lift my sagging chemise by the ends to unlace the front part of my leather trousers, peeling it off. Then I unthread the neckline of the chemise, pulling it over my head and dumping it on the floor. I tiptoe eagerly to the bath, slipping inside, slowly submerging my bare body until the waterline is beneath my chin. My eyelids droop close, and a tranquil sigh trickles out of my lips. The warm water is at a perfect temperature, so heavenly and so soothing, I can feel former aches and qualms melting away.
"The next time you find yourself in the presence of Her Grandness or any member of royalty, it would be prudent to observe proper decorum by curtseying, rather than bowing as a man would. Judging by your rather coarse accent, it appears your acquaintance with royal audiences is a recent development."
I stare back at her with knotted brows, Nalia strolling in front of the foot of the bath. "Who's the Herem with dark russet hair but has eyes as bright as sea glass but has the colour of liquid fire," she says dreamily. A smile toying with her lips. "He has a certain finesse, enough to even charm my mother."
Vince.
"Why are you asking?"
"Why do you care if I ask?"
"He's not a good fit for you," I blurt. My eyes bounce between her and Lila. "For any of you." I would look at Cassia too, but she's at my rear, too busy blending ingredients.
Nalia folds her arms. "And why is that?"
Why is that?
I falter in my thinking. "Uh, difficult to explain. You see what they show you, I see what they do not. Regarding the Herems, they are all strapping, I agree. They may seem charming, but they cannot be trusted. Most of them are arrogant, vulgar, and hide their truths behind masks. Does that sound like someone you wish to be acquainted with?"
Nalia scoffs and waves me off with a disinterested hand. "Of course, you would say that. They are your rivals; they are not going to reveal any such truth. If any of them are saying anything different, they're lying."
Cassia appears beside me with a small wooden saucer, a brush in her other hand with a thick handle and soft bristles at its ends. She dips the brush into the syrupy liquid, and she paints it on my face, starting with my forehead, her strokes focused and light.
"Pardon my sister's frank tongue, but she's right," Lila says. "You're their rival, but you are also a woman. Perhaps they might let a few things slip more than they should. But the fact remains that they will never be true to you and those who make themselves out to be... you're right not to trust them."
Nalia kneels before the foot of the bath and rests her folded arms on the rounded verge. "But it's not our problem. I don't care about their skills in the Vasilias Imperii, only their skills in bed."
"Don't mind my sister," Cassia says. Her eyes concentrated on her work like my face is her canvas, "My virgin sister who likes to pretend that she's not."
"Cassia!" Nalia shrieks, sprouting to her feet. "Erka va los nut tem va eske!"
I don't know what she said, but it sounded like she threw a curse.
"If you will not be of any use, be useless somewhere else," Cassia dismisses. Clearly the eldest.
Nalia huffs like an angry child and storms off. Lila stares after her, shaking her head.
"Lila, do you mind retrieving her daywear for me?"
She makes a chirpy sound and skips merrily to the exit.
The duration of my refreshment goes on for longer than I thought. Cassia practically has to war with my hair to revive it. After my bath, she braids it into a single fish plait bespeckled with the same blooms found in my bath. Whilst she's plaiting my hair in front of the vanity, I admire the new radiant skin of the reflection in the mirror. I suspect a fleck of arsenic and turmeric in the skin mixture.
But what I wear is the most bizarre thing ever. A fitted garment, tight around my breasts. It curves down to V-shape, the tip inches above my hipline, exposing my hips and my entire back. The top is held together by the multifaceted threads on my completely bareback, strung in an intricate pattern. The skirt is ankle-high with one long, leg slit that ends at the upper thigh.
All the Herems and I are escorted back to the Regulus's palace to have our luncheon there. But as soon as the three sisters see the Herems, they abandon me and entertain them with their company. Dario has taken a quick and deep liking to Lila that he even offers his arm to her, and she gladly loops hers with his.
Accessing the extraordinary palace through the side atrium. And the interior is of a gigantic and far more resplendent greenhouse with liberal extravagance. The vaulted ceiling has golden veins coursing through the inside. The glass staircases are guided by railings with wrought designs flecked all along the sides.
Following blindly, I notice a figure stirring in my periphery.
I glance sideways. I see Vince detaching himself from Nalia, placing an apologetic hand on her shoulder before he hurries towards me. She swivels and watches him with a pained look of rejection, and her gaze spears through me once she realises where he's going. I evade his gaze, snapping my head forward, accelerating my speed but he catches up to me, anyway.
"Good day, Hera Aurora,"
"Vince," I say tersely.
I pilfer another glance of him. The fabric of his clothing has a sheeny uniqueness; a jasper fine-embroidered vest jacket worn a cream blouse with billowy sleeves.
"If I did not know any better, it looks as if you were trying to escape me?"
"You did not have me, to begin with."
"Not yet." I can hear the smirk in his tone. That sounded too confident for my liking.
I spare him with a stunned look. Molten brown hair manicured back to rippling perfection, his face clean-shaven, no more beard or even a moustache.
"I think you should be reminded of our roles, Herem," I say.
We all ascend the glass staircase that gracefully swivels skyward.
"Our roles?" he repeats with a scathing snort. "Aurora, I know that any friendship formed in the Trials would be tenuous. I can still fiercely pursue my ambitions..." he trails off and takes the moment to capture my gaze. Something dangerous glints inside his eyes. "... Without being a mindless brute. Why are you suddenly so suspicious of me? Why do I lack your trust?"
"Trust is always earned, never given," I quote.
"You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough," he says. A direct quotation from one of the books I have memorized by heart. A favorite of father's.
He glances back at me, letting out a small chuckle.
"Yes, I have read the Great Parables of the Wise," he says, smiling back at me cheekily. "Not all of us are born with the blood of intellects in our veins. Some of us have to learn the difficult way."
I banish a smile. "Nothing I have was inherited, what I have is what I earned. A concept none of you noblemen know, even you."
"There you go, clumping me with the rest of them." He leans closer for a conspiring whisper. "Descendants and Decuria alike, they are all a brood of vipers."
"Am I truly to believe you're nothing like them?"
He smirks at me devilishly. "Darling, there is no one like me. And you know that. Do you know how I know? The difference between how you regard the other purebloods. And how you regard me."
I smother a smile. "And how is that?" I muse.
"With conflict. You find yourself torn, uncertain whether you can trust me. Yet the very fact that you are contemplating this reveals a part of you that longs to do so—a quiet yearning that has sparked your sudden animosity towards me. The desire for something you know better than to want."
"You think very highly of yourself," I say flatly. "So high to even assume you take any space in my mind."
"Good," he says with a swell of excitement, "because I hoping to take another part of your body. He eyes me down curiously, a mischievous look glimmering in his eyes.
I continue evenly. "You should spend your time doing mind manipulations on those who merit a threat. Not a lowborn woman who'll never again see the castle walls. I'm here to fill a gap. You, on the other hand, are admired by the highest nobility. So, you can imagine how I am filled with speculation as to what you seek to gain from me?"
"I am ecstatic," he says bluntly.
Confusion gathers my brows.
"I am glad you think of me so often. Tell me... late at night, when you lay, and the world is still. What are your thoughts of me then?"
Irritation crumbles my expression.
He slants towards me and whispers, "I can only hope they resemble my own fantasies."
I edge from him, casting my gaze afar, and it skims past the statuesque Terra guards.
"And in your fantasies, they will remain," I say tautly.
I walk ahead of him to join Solaris.
I thought we were going to eat in a dining hall, but instead, we are being led to a balcony. Two long tables parallel from each other are clothed with emerald draping. The spines are arrayed with platters of green food, dishes of just vegetables and fruits. The drinks are held in the same irregular-shaped jars as the ones filled with herbal soup. The expansive balcony along the waistline of the palace, its view is impeded by a canopy of leaves. A lattice of interlaced woody limbs that gratefully offers shade from the sun.
We all choose our sides.
Solaris, I, Lila, Dario, Treyton, Tamani, and Cassia occupy the one six-seater table.
Vince, Markiveus, Rimnick, Brennon, Zekei, and Nalia occupy the other.
The opposing camps are seated opposite each other.
Whilst everyone partakes in the tremendously healthy dishes, a buffet of wellness choices. My eyes study the borders of the balcony; the guards that outline the large archway, and the others beside them that rim the entire one side.
Terra guards, but where are our guards?
Lila prods my side with her elbow, munching down on a ripe green stalk. "Are you looking for someone?"
I shake my head too many times.
She looks back at me with an unconvinced smile, and swipes away an iron-flat sheet of dark hair off her shoulder. "Because you look like you are looking for someone."
I ignore her and reach for the bowl of fruits. I take a kwalia, a round purple fruit with a hard shell that conceals its fleshy inside, bearing an uncanny resemblance to red jelly. I bite into it, bursting with a stream of citrus flavour that spills across my tongue. Amusing a conversation with Solaris, but my fickle gaze travels, occasionally glancing here and there and then I spot Vince. He sits at the head of the table, all around him enthralled by his mere presence. He speaks to them vigorously, smiling cosmically, but his gaze is bound to mine.
To slay time after lunch, Cassia shows me her favorite spots with scenic views. One of them is on the outer flank of the annex that the Herems and I reside in. Winding up an unrailed staircase that spirals around a tree, like it's a wooden spire amidst the structures. The top is a big enough wooden platform, elevated so high up that it will have no visual obstruction. And it does not. It exhibits a full aerial view of the celestial forest, every glade gleaming, every crystal-like edifice shimmering under sunlight.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
I nod, at a loss for words. After a few thoughtful moments, I find some. "Do you have any light training gear?"
She looks back at me and arcs a brow. "Why?"
I examine the unrailed platform, almost levitating on the stretch of cotton-ball clouds, with the green peaks of trees jutting through. I turn my gaze back to the picture-perfect view, which deserves to be framed in the art galleries of kings.
"It's been a long while since I have trained."
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